Alan Rickman, the Actor Who Played Professor Snape, Has Died at Age 69

The iconic actor was battling cancer.

Alan Rickman, the British actor and director beloved by nearly every generation for his wide variety of roles, has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

A statement provided to the BBC by his family read: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."

Rickman was very, very good at playing memorable villains: his role as Hans Gruber in Die Hard was a breakthrough role, and he won a BAFTA for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ Sheriff of Nottingham. But he also showed his range in films like Sense and Sensibility and Love Actually. And of course, his portrayal of Professor Severus Snape throughout eight Harry Potter films was nearly untouchable.

Author J.K. Rowling had even entrusted him with “a tiny piece of information” that helped him develop Snape as a man who was more than he seemed, long before we knew the way the books ended. In a way, Alan Rickman helped us believe that magic was real.